Dark Does Not Mean Evil
by Tomarrylover
Summary: The Ministry conducts a test of the school to determine whether one has dark, light, or neutral magic for "the safety" of Hogwarts students. Unsurprisingly, chaos erupts at Harry Potter's unexpected results.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, patiently waiting for his appointment to arrive. The venerable headmaster had no idea why Minister Fudge demanded to see him this time, but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be something good.

Behind him, his faithful companion Fawkes gave a trill of agreement, though it could be disagreement for all Albus knew, but he liked to think he knew the difference after all the years of partnership between them.

Both he and Fawkes were proven correct in their assumptions when Minister Cornelius Fudge burst in hurriedly, and with an unusually grim face.

"Cornelius," he greeted kindly, "have a seat will you? Lemon drop?" he then asked out of politeness.

The man seemed to barely register his words before catching on and sitting in one of the two chairs on the other side of Albus's desk.

"No thank you, Albus. I'm afraid that I've come here with bad news." The Minister responded once he settled down in the comfy chair.

"Have you finally recognized the ample evidence in front of you and have accepted the truth of Voldemort's return? Because I can assure you that there is little you can tell me that is worse news than your continual denial of facts." Albus commented idly as he took a lemon drop from his bowl and popped it into his mouth.

"Now listen here Albus! I've had it with you and your incessant claims that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned! There is no 'ample evidence' like you proclaim, just the word of a deranged teenager!" Fudge defended hotly, his face turning a puce color similar to the robes Albus was currently wearing.

"As you insist, Minister, but your denial will prove deadly once the truth comes out. Mark my words on this, Cornelius." He warned, desperately wishing that the man would just listen to sense for once.

There was silence for a few minutes as Fudge looked at him defiantly, becoming more entrenched in his beliefs by the second. Albus internally sighed as he realized what a lost cause it was to try and convince Cornelius to lose his paranoia towards him and accept Albus's words as the advice it was instead of an attack.

Forced to restart the conversation, the Headmaster decided to eat another lemon drop to justify the silence on his end. It was a good thing that these candies had a calming effect on him, or else he would've lost his patience with the Minister a long time ago.

"So, if you're not here for that, then what is this bad news you felt was important to deliver to me personally?" He questioned nonchalantly, making sure to appear as if he was merely curious instead of mildly worried.

The Minister immediately lost the self-righteousness in his posture and instead adopted one of defeat, and Albus couldn't tell if it was purposeful or not.

"Yes well, I know that you haven't been able to keep up with the new laws since your loss of position as Supreme Mugwump." Fudge began somewhat nervously, knowing full well that Albus's loss of position was his fault before continuing more confidently. "But recently, a new law was passed that made it mandatory for all wizards and witches from ages 14 to 17 to be tested by some newly developed technology to determine their magic's affinity and how it was developed. It's going to be implemented starting next week."

"What in the world brought this on? Do you have any idea of the implications such a decision will have? Most children don't even develop their own affinity until adulthood, so most of the results will just reveal which kids are from Dark families! Is that the true purpose of this farce of a law, Cornelius?" Albus questioned ardently, shocked.

"I received word from Delores that she has reason to believe that there is a group of students practicing the Dark Arts in one of the many hidden facets of this castle. This technology would reveal not only those who are currently practicing, but those who are likely to practice the Dark Arts in the future due to their affinity." The Minister explained matter-of-factly.

"And just what kind of technology is this that it can supposedly detect such a thing?" He inquired, still needing more information.

"It was created by the Unspeakables," Cornelius began unsuredly, but continued speaking anyways. "designed to be able to identify the affinity of the person's magic once given a sample of it, preferably by spell. The interesting part is that it can distinguish just how the affinity was developed.

As you mentioned before, most children have the same affinity as their parents, and if that is the case, this object will tell you. But if the child pursued the Dark Arts of their own volition, this technology is also able to identify that."

There was another minute of silence as the Headmaster digested the Minister's words.

"And what else exactly can this object detect?" He questioned.

"Well, I don't know everything it does, since I was mostly just told about it in reference to the uses that were relevant at the time." Cornelius responded somewhat embarrassingly.

"Very well, Cornelius. Since I don't really have a choice but to allow this to happen, I might as well thank you for taking the time to warn me ahead of time." Albus conceded, knowing there was no other option.

"It was no problem Albus, I also wanted to thank you for taking this so calmly, I was afraid you would blow up on me once I revealed that the law would be in effect starting next week." Fudge admitted sheepishly, brushing off his nervousness with a couple laughs.

He smiled genially at the man, "I hope you will always remember me as your friend above all else Cornelius, no matter how bad our relationship gets because of politics."

His words had an obvious effect on the man, for he smiled back at him hesitantly before standing up. "Then, if that is all Albus, I shall take my leave. Paperwork won't file itself you know!" The man joked lamely.

There was a moment of silence where Cornelius just stood there awkwardly waiting for Albus to laugh at his joke, but he wasn't in the mood for falsities at the moment. The Minister was seconds away from leaving his office when he called him back with one more statement.

"Actually, Cornelius, there was just one more question that I had. Just _who_ exactly did our esteemed Professor suspect of practicing the Dark Arts? An old man like me can't help but be curious of how such an event happened right under my very nose, as I'm sure you understand."

"Uh, you see, um, that's a really interesting question actually, um," Fudge stammered, obviously not expecting him to ask that question when he was so off guard.

"Just answer the question Minister. After all, this new legislation couldn't have passed if it the suspect wasn't a student already well known in the wizarding community, am I right?" He continued, putting more pressure on the man in front of him.

The Minister became more and more flustered as he realized that Albus was more than aware of _exactly_ who this entire farce of a law was about, but was just looking for verbal confirmation of his beliefs.

"Delores reported to me multiple times that it seemed Harry Potter and quite a few of his delinquent friends were meeting up despite the new educational decrees restricting such a thing." Fudge summarized unsurely, not looking the Headmaster in the eyes.

"I see, that is a very serious accusation, are you sure that there is actually evidence behind her claims?" He inquired further, sounding grave and serious.

"There's more evidence of Harry Potter being a Dark Wizard than there is of You-Know-Who being back!" Cornelius defended hotly.

"If you truly believe so, Minister, then I shall leave you to it. I assume that I'll also be expecting your return starting next week?" Albus resolved, tired of arguing with the man he used to be such good friends with.

Fudge took a couple deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down from his mini-outburst. "Yes, I among with some of the Unspeakables who designed the technology will be there." The man confirmed once he was calm.

"Very well, I bid you farewell until then, Minister." He finally dismissed.

"Farewell to you as well, Albus, have a good day." Cornelius responded before leaving his office the way he came.

When the Minister of Magic was finally gone, Albus slouched down and released a heavy sigh. It was always exhausting to talk to Cornelius when he was being stubborn, but it had never been as bad as it was now. Albus remembered fondly when he first truly met him as a young, but ambitious man with strong morals and a good work ethic.

It had been tragic, and still was, to see such a fine man deteriorate into a stubborn coward due to fear and paranoia. And now, instead of the action-taking Minister they needed right now with Voldemort's return, the Wizarding World was stuck with an obstinate fool too afraid to lose power by taking action.

There was nothing he could do about it though, other than to try and futilely make the man see some sense. This made him release another sigh of disappointment, and he began to think of the many others who had also been corrupted in the same way. When these thoughts became outright depressing, Albus had to force himself to stop ruminating over the past start focusing on the future.

Whatever technology this was, to be able to identify the affinity of one's magic, it didn't matter in the end. He was positive that Umbridge's claims were just another attempt to get young Harry expelled, and that she would be in for a big surprise when the test proved her wrong.

Not only that, but this farce of a law actually had the benefit of revealing the children who had gone down the wrong path, and once that happened Albus would be in a position to get them the help they need. All in all, he had nothing to worry about, all that was left was to get it over with.

And so a week later, it all began.


	2. Chapter 2: Progression Towards the End

Harry sat at Gryffindor table moodily, ignoring Hermione's nagging and Ron's complaints in favor of the food in front of him. After stabbing a sausage with enough force to make it fly off his plate, he sighed and gave up on the meal entirely. He just knew that today was going to be a terrible day, just like every day had been ever since Umbridge became Professor.

Other than the DA's continued success, absolutely nothing else in his life was going well for him. Dumbledore was ignoring him as always, Umbridge wouldn't leave him alone, Snape was merciless, and even his friends were starting to avoid him in fear of his temper. Not to mention there was that disastrous kiss with Cho, him being in constant fear concerning Sirius's recklessness, and endless worry of what Voldemort was doing.

All in all, this year was looking to somehow be even worse than the last, and that was saying something since he'd actually witnessed Cedric's murder last year. The memories of glassy eyes and green light still haunted him in his nightmares, along with the images of the narrow hallway leading to a door beyond his reach. Thinking of that dark place and the indescribable need to find something made him shudder, remembering the vision he'd had of Arthur Weasley being attacked.

Harry still wasn't sure if he'd actually been possessed that night like Moody feared, or if Dumbledore had been right about the _connection_ between him and Voldemort. Even worse, Occlumency lessons with Snape only seemed to be getting worse as time passed, so there wasn't even any hope in preventing Voldemort from entering his mind.

All of these dark thoughts stewed within his mind, and Harry was glad for the end of breakfast so that he could focus on something else for once. He was tired of constantly thinking over the same dilemmas and continually having no solutions for them, so much so that classes actually seemed like a reprieve for the first time in his life.

He continued to ignore Ron and Hermione as they made their way to Transfiguration, the two of them still talking as if it was just another day. The three of them sat down in the same set of chairs they've been sitting in for years, and the class began. As soon as McGonagall started lecturing about OWLs though, his attention was lost. All the teachers have been giving the same lecture for months now, and to be quite frank, Harry was sick of it.

He didn't have time to listen to repetitive lectures, write essays, or study for the OWLs when Voldemort was becoming increasingly more active with no one the wiser. He was already busy enough valiantly trying to learn Occlumency, enduring Umbridge's detentions from hell, and leading the very illegal self defense group called Dumbledore's Army without even touching upon schoolwork.

To sum it all up, Harry was feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin with all the things going on in his life, and his gut was telling him that it was just about to get even worse. Eventually, Transfiguration ended with a three foot long essay due next week on some vague law that will _doubtlessly_ show up on the OWLs, and the day had barely even begun.

The trio of friends started walking towards their next class, and his mood soured even more as he realized exactly which class he was about to endure: Defense Against the Dark Arts. What had once been Harry's favorite class was now tainted by a teacher that refused to teach them how to defend themselves.

Her refusal to prepare her students for the real world is what led Harry to lead the DA to begin with, since no one else their age knew better than him how to survive deadly situations, and so it was easy to assume that he would be the one teaching students how to do the same. And while Harry desperately hoped that none of the other students would ever need to use their knowledge, the cynic in him knew that the war to stop Voldemort had already begun, and the students needed as many skills as possible in order to survive.

The DADA classroom had been completely changed from the design it was last year, and every time he saw it, he tried not to comment on it. After all, anyone would find a room absolutely _covered_ in pink with pictures of cats everywhere funny, they just weren't allowed to laugh at it in fear of Umbridge's detentions. Sitting in the back of the classroom and taking out the textbook, Harry prepared for another infuriating lesson about how he was a liar and the best defense was to not fight at all.

But then, the weirdest and strangest happened: Umbridge left Harry alone. She didn't call him out, inquire for his 'opinion', or ask him a rhetorical question. In fact, she barely looked at him throughout the class period. However, when she did glance at Harry, she had a malicious smile on her face that sent shivers down his back.

He had no idea why the witch was suddenly denying an opportunity to humiliate and insult him, but it was quite frankly creepy. This continued on for the entire period, and as every minute passed Harry became more and more paranoid. Hundreds of theories of what could have happened to make her so happy flew through his head, each one worse than the last.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the period finally ended. Harry was the first one to leave the classroom, needing to get out of there as fast as possible. Thankfully, he had a free period before lunch, so he had some time to calm down and theorize with Ron and Hermione.

As soon as he settled down in the Gryffindor Common Room, his two best friends caught up to him. Unsurprisingly, the first thing out of Hermione's mouth was, "Did you see the way Professor Umbridge was looking at you?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it was freaky how happy she was. I'm worried that we're about to receive some very bad news, I mean, why else would she hold off on crucifying me like always?"

"Yeah mate," Ron joined in, "that was super weird. I think the entire class was on their toes the whole period."

"Do you think it might have something to do with the Ministry? They've been giving her a lot of power lately, this could just be the culmination of it." Hermione theorized.

"I don't know, but it seems likely now that you mention it. Hopefully it's just another one of those stupid educational decrees and not something more serious." Harry agreed.

"Sitting around worrying about her will only make it worse. Chess?" Ron suggested, to which Harry easily agreed.

"Oh come on, you two. Why don't you use this time to get started on the essay Professor McGonagall assigned? If you finish it early, you won't have to deal with it hanging over you." Hermione admonished disapprovingly, pulling out her Transfiguration textbook and some parchment.

"No bloody way Hermione! Why in Merlin's name would we start our homework now when we could just copy off you later?" Ron responded scandalized.

Hermione's reaction was instantaneous. "Ronald Weasley you will do no such thing! In fact, I won't even check over your essay for mistakes like I usually do! Let's see how well you do without me helping you every step along the way!"

And with that, the witch picked up her books angrily and moved to one of the other tables far away from them. Without even looking up, Harry commented. "You've really done it now Ron, it's your turn by the way."

The redhead only looked at him dazed before randomly moving a piece, unknowingly making a really good move. "I don't even understand why she got angry mate, I was just joking."

Harry shrugged, "She probably didn't realize it. Either way, you're better off if you just apologize, she'll forgive you once she realizes just how much help you need."

"I guess you're right Harry, I'll apologize during lunch. Your turn again." Ron agreed.

He just nodded absentmindedly as he considered the chess board. Despite his friend being a certifiable chess prodigy, Harry still tried his best to beat him. Amiable silence continued as they moved pieces, focusing on the game instead of anything else. After an indescribable amount of time passed, Harry finally reached the end of his rope.

"Alright, I give up, there's no way for me to win and I'm tired of losing pieces." He declared suddenly, pushing himself away from the board.

"I was one turn away from putting you in checkmate anyways, so you're right about that. But you lasted a little longer than last time." Ron tried to comfort, but Harry just snorted at him.

"Whatever you say mate, I just know that even seventh years can't win against you." He responded, stretching his back out from sitting down too long.

"One more round? I really don't want to get started on that Transfiguration essay." Ron basically begged him.

Harry sighed, "Yeah sure, maybe if I continue getting just a little bit better I'll be able to beat you by the time we graduate."

Ron snorted at him, "You wish!"

And so another game began, with the redhead being a lot more passionate about winning this time. It was during this game that the bell signaling the end of the period rang throughout the castle. Like clockwork, a flurry of students bustled around to get to their next class, but Harry and Ron were in no such hurry.

"Let's finish this when we get back from lunch, I'm starving." Ron suggested calmly despite the sudden increase of activity in the surrounding area.

Harry, who was also used to this routine, nodded. "Let's also get Hermione before we go, it'll give you more time to apologize."

Ron groaned at the reminder of Hermione's outburst earlier. "Yeah, you're right. Might as well get it over with."

And with that, the two friends quickly gathered the missing member of their group and started heading towards the Great Hall. Hermione was studiously ignoring Ron, forcing Harry to walk in between them, but that didn't stop the redhead from trying to apologize.

Luckily for Ron, Hermione didn't hold grudges, and by the time they arrived, the Golden Trio was whole once more. However, as soon as they entered the grand hall, the three quickly realized that something was going on.

For one, none of the house tables were set up, so most, if not all of the students had to stand in one of four segregated crowds organized by house. Each group was ordered by year, with the fourth years of each house first moving backwards in increasing age.

Harry wondered what in the world could've been going on, but the only other hint he had was that Cornelius Fudge was also there. He was accompanied by a couple of unidentifiable people, along with a few Aurors for some reason.

"What do you think's going on?" Hermione whispered to him and Ron, her posture defensive with suspicion in her eyes.

"No idea, I just hope it's not related to whatever had Umbridge so happy earlier." Harry responded, making Hermione shiver in apprehension of the thought.

"Me too, mate, because if it is then we're screwed." Ron stated, perturbed by the nervous atmosphere in the room.

The three of them hesitantly made their way to the area where all the Gryffindors were lined up, them finding their yearmates with no difficulty. There were dozens of whispers as students tried to figure out what was going on, and from what Harry could overhear, it seemed all of them were in the dark.

Soon, no other students entered the Great Hall, and that was when Fudge decided to make his announcement.

"Attention students of Hogwarts, please do not be alarmed. This is just a process that the Unspeakables are required to enact, on behalf of a new law that was passed recently. Now, there is nothing to worry about, we will be proceeding by house and year, starting with the youngest then moving upwards. All that you need to do is perform a spell on the Unspeakables orders, any spell really, onto the object which will be shown shortly. All questions will be answered once we have finished testing, thank you for your cooperation." The Minister of Magic declared calmly.

Despite the Minister's instructions, there was a sudden influx of voices asking questions, the noise quickly getting to the point of requiring another interruption.

"Silence!" Headmaster Dumbledore proclaimed, and no one hesitated to obey him. "Do as the Minister says, there is to be no talking while each test is going on."

Without hesitation, the students quieted down in acquiescence. Curiosity as well as impatience was tangible on many faces, his own included. To Harry's relief though, the Unspeakables moved to begin with the Gryffindors, and were probably going to move sideways from there, saving Slytherin house for last.

"There is just one final bit of instructions, before we start calling names." Fudge began speaking suddenly. "Once the Unspeakables have created a copy of your results, you will all be directed into one of nine rooms until an Unspeakable arrives to explain the general results. We will bring out the object now, and do be careful not to touch it, as it is very fragile."

And with that, one of the cloaked figures pulled a transparent glass orb out of their pocket. At first glance, it seemed uninteresting, but once the Unspeakable tapped it with their wand, that sentiment quickly changed. Like magic, which it obviously was, the orb filled with thick smoke that changed colors sporadically before settling down into a solid grey color.

The weirdest part was when the Unspeakable held the orb out in front of them, and just let go. Instead of breaking on the floor like everyone expected, the orb stayed floating in air unassisted. Harry had never seen magic like it before, and this only made him more curious and impatient to find out what it did.

When the first Gryffindor was called up, the entire hall stood still in anticipation of the results. With hesitation, the young girl cast a tickling charm on the floating orb, watching in avid curiosity as the smoke changed colors once more, though they were different than the Unspeakables. As it changed colors, one of the other cloaked figures scribbled frantically on a piece of parchment.

Within the minute, the orb stopped changing colors, settling into a grey similar to when the Unspeakable had first used it. The Unspeakable that had been writing down notes tore off a piece of their parchment and handed it to the third year.

"Go to this location." They ordered succinctly, the voice sounding feminine in nature.

The girl didn't even hesitate before rushing away, leaving the Great Hall as fast as she could. Then, the next Gryffindor was called. Harry watched in fascination as the same process was repeated with different results once again. A minute later, the fourth year boy was given a slip of paper as well, and soon he was gone as well.

He should've gotten bored by it all by the time the Unspeakables finished with the fourth years, but he didn't. For some reason, him, and everyone else, were still transfixed by the mysterious smoke filled orb. Once they reached the fifth years, Harry truly started paying attention.

One by one, his yearmates were called up to get tested, each getting a piece of paper. As he neared the front of the line, Harry began to feel more anxious about what this test was truly about, especially considering that the Ministry was responsible for it. When Hermione was called up, he watched nervously as the colors changed before settling on a cloudy white.

Harry had seen a few others also end in the same color, but still had no idea as to what it could mean. He could only hope that both him and Ron would end up in the same room as Hermione, despite the one-in-nine chance. Way too soon, it was his turn to go up to the orb.

His nerves threatened to overwhelm him, and Harry briefly experienced a moment of panic when he couldn't decide what spell to use on the orb, but he quickly realized that it was unimportant.

" _Silencio."_ Harry spoke, watching as the spell hit the orb and absorb into it.

As the orb changed colors, he only grew more and more curious as to what each color could mean. After what seemed like an eternity, the orb settled on an ashy black color, making Harry disappointed that he wouldn't be in the same room as Hermione for sure now.

Without saying a word to him, the Unspeakable handed him a piece of parchment. When he looked at it, the paper instructed him to head to one of the abandoned classrooms that had apparently been cleared out for this test. It also said that he was also supposed to wait quietly for one of the Unspeakables to show up and explain his results.

Reluctantly, Harry left the Great Hall and headed to the classroom indicated on the paper, it being reasonably close to the Great Hall. He wondered where the other eight rooms were, and who was in them, but for once he didn't want to get into trouble for disobeying the rules, and so he dutifully headed to his assigned room.

When he arrived, Harry was actually surprised to see that no one was in the room yet, him apparently being the first. After double checking to see that he wasn't in the wrong room, he went back in and tried to relax as he waited for someone else to show up.

As time passed slower than paint dried, Harry began to worry that no one else would arrive, and that he was about to discover something else that made him even more different than everyone else, which was the last thing he wanted. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only 20 minutes, another student arrived.

It was a Ravenclaw, and a fourth year at that. Upon seeing Harry there, the girl seemed confused, but Harry had no idea why she was. Seeing that the girl was uninterested in conversation, Harry decided to ignore her and wait for more students to arrive, relieved that he at least wasn't alone.

Soon, another two Ravenclaws arrived, fifth years this time, though Harry didn't know them. Like the girl, the two boys seemed surprised to see him, but they ignored him to go sit where the other Ravenclaw was on the other side of the room. Harry was quickly getting annoyed by the avoidance, assuming that it was because of the lies the Prophet has been publishing about both him and Dumbledore.

Another three Ravenclaws soon arrived, all sixth years now. Once again, the one girl and two boys had the same reaction before quickly joining their other housemates. After two more Ravenclaws, seventh years now, arrived and yet again had the same reaction, Harry considered confronting them all with their obvious avoidance, but decided not to since they were all older and definitely smarter than him.

Then, for a long while, there were no more arrivals. Harry realized that the Hufflepuffs must've been getting tested now, and was at a loss as to why none of them were coming to the room. In fact, it was weird that he was also the only Gryffindor here as well, but it didn't look like the Ravenclaws were willing to provide any answers for him.

Harry wished Ron or Hermione were with him, since at least he could have had some company during such a nerve wracking experience instead of being alone like he was now. Despite their avoidance of him though, the Ravenclaws didn't seem too bad, they weren't antagonizing him or anything, so the situation wasn't as bad as it could've been.

And then the first Slytherin arrived. She was a fourth year, and actually looked vaguely like another one of the Slytherin's who Harry couldn't remember the name of. Almost expecting it, Harry wasn't surprised to see her react the same exact way the Ravenclaws had before.

The only difference was that instead of joining the group of Ravenclaws, the Slytherin decided to sit at her own table, isolating herself from the rest of the room. Harry could understand why, especially considering the girl probably didn't know any of them, just like him. Soon another two fourth years arrived, a girl and a boy, and they immediately flocked towards the girl after giving Harry more weird looks.

It was easier to guess why the Slytherins were avoiding him this time, since they all probably had family that wanted Harry dead, it wouldn't be a good idea for any of them to be seen "socializing" with him. His curiosity was nearly driving him crazy, what did he have in common with a bunch of Ravenclaws and Slytherins? Harry hoped that the Unspeakables were coming to explain everything soon, he didn't know if he had the patience to stay silent much longer.

Another girl entered, the first fifth year of Slytherin house, and Harry realized where he recognized that first Slytherin girl from. The resemblance between them was so strong that they couldn't be anything but sisters. The way the fifth year rushed towards the younger one proved his theory.

Harry began to feel a sense of dread, recognizing that it was likely more fifth year Slytherins would also enter the room, which might be bad news for him. While the first fifth year didn't seem to care that Harry was in the room, he knew that wouldn't be the case for all the Slytherins of his year.

His fear became reality when after what must've been 10 minutes, Draco Malfoy swaggered into the room. As soon as the blonde saw him, however, a large smirk appeared on his face unlike anything Harry had ever seen before.

"Well well, if it isn't Saint Potter," Malfoy began confrontationally, "I never thought I'd see you here of all the rooms. Dumbledore must be so disappointed in his Golden Boy."

Harry just looked at him confusedly. "What the hell are you talking about Malfoy?"

Somehow, Malfoy's smirk got even wider. "Didn't you know? The test was to determine the magical affinities of Hogwarts students, and it seems like the epitome of the Light side is a Dark Wizard."

Shock and disbelief coursed through him, "That's not possible…" Harry whispered.

Malfoy laughed contemptuously until he was interrupted by a slightly unfamiliar voice.

"Now now Draco, there's no need to humiliate him, especially since Potters one of us now."

The voice belonged to Theodore Nott, a Slytherin who Harry has only heard speak a few times, mostly in derision of Harry himself actually. The distress from Malfoy's statement was still overwhelming him though, to the point that Harry could barely comprehend what Nott had said.

Malfoys attention was now on the newcomer, which gave him some time to calm down from the blondes words. After a short stare-off between the two Slytherins, Harry was surprised to see that Malfoy was the first one to back off by looking away.

The two boys then moved to join the other Slytherins like nothing had happened, once again leaving Harry alone. Soon, another fifth year entered, and he recognized him as Blaise Zabini, a boy who also often stayed silent. After quickly joining his other housemates, the roomful of students returned to their soft whispers.

Harry tried not to listen to what the Ravenclaws or Slytherins were saying, but it was impossible considering he had nothing else to focus on. That left him no choice but think harder about Malfoys taunt and of the possibility of it being true. If it wasn't for his own presence in the room, Harry would not have had any trouble believing the inhabitants were Dark Wizards.

Malfoy had also mentioned that his father and multiple members of the Ministry were aware of the true purpose behind the systematic testing of Hogwarts students. The Slytherin had no reason to lie about that when his statement could easily be proven false, so Harry came to the conclusion that, for the most part, Malfoy was telling the truth.

But this only brought him to the root of the problem: if Malfoy was telling the truth, then why was Harry in the same room as him? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the trickle of Slytherins entering the room, sixth years this time. He was too busy frantically searching for a reason that could possibly explain how he'd ended up in the same room as other probable Dark Wizards.

It was obvious to him that there had to be some sort of mistake; the orb malfunctioned, the Unspeakable accidentally wrote down the wrong location, _something_ that proved beyond a doubt that Harry wasn't a Dark Wizard. He was the _Boy-Who-Lived_ for crying out loud! It was impossible for him to be the very thing that caused the death of his parents. He wasn't that much of a freak to defy the Potter line that had been Light for hundreds of years according to Sirius, right?

Harry was pulled from his thoughts when Malfoy spoke up again, loud enough for the whole room of students to turn towards him.

"So, what are we going to do?"

One of the Ravenclaws, a sixth year if he remembered correctly, immediately stood up "What the hell do you mean?" the boy asked, the confusion and irritation in his voice matching Harry's feelings perfectly.

"I mean, what are we going to do about the fact that at any moment now, those Unspeakables are going to come in with the Minister and call us all Dark Wizards… whether or not it's true," the blonde quickly added when Harry opened his mouth to object.

"If what you said to Potter was true, then why were there nine rooms for students to go in? Why not three for the three types of affinities?" Another Ravenclaw questioned, the fourth year girl that had arrived first this time.

"That's because the orb can distinguish how the affinity was formed, of which there are only three methods according to my father: those whose families are of a certain affinity and haven't done anything to change that, those whose upbringing forced a change of affinity different than their birth alignment, and those who consciously choose to change their affinity by excessively practicing that branch of magic." Malfoy explained patiently to Harry's confusion, him having never seen the blonde acting so cordial before.

"And why did your father tell you all of this? It was a secret until today, which means that he probably wasn't supposed to tell you ahead of time." The same sixth year from earlier questioned, disbelief obvious in his voice.

Harry didn't know what to think, not understanding how any of the methods Malfoy had listed could possibly change a persons magical affinity. To be honest, he didn't even really know what magical affinities actually were or how they worked. When he'd been introduced to the concepts of Light and Dark when he was a first year, he'd taken it to mean the two sides of the war. He now of course knew about Light and Dark magic, and that the practicing of each was what distinguished Light and Dark wizards from each other, but that still didn't explain half of what Malfoy was saying.

"He told me because he knew where I would end up, and it's why we're all going to have a big problem once the Unspeakables get here." Malfoy responded grimly, making Harry think that maybe he was actually telling the truth.

"Well? Are you going to share with the class or not?" Zabini spoke up sarcastically, glaring at the blonde for being so vague.

"As I'm sure most, if not all, of you have figured out by now, the main goal of this test is to discover the kids who consciously chose to perform Dark magic. However, the kids that have been raised Dark or have been abused enough to turn their magical affinities Dark are under just as much suspicion, because to them, we're all just as dangerous as those who've chosen their path. That's the designation we've all been assigned to, this room right here." The Slytherin explained.

At this point, Harry couldn't help but speak up, "What do you mean about abuse turning affinities Dark? That can happen?" he asked a bit dumbly, fear starting encroach upon him at the thought of the Dursleys and their treatment of him.

Malfoy turned to him, and for the first time since they met, wasn't a complete prick. "Yes Potter, it's been proven that the period of time when the magical affinity of a person is most susceptible to influence is during , if a child is abused, it's possible for their magical affinity to turn Dark as a result, though I don't know the details of how it works."

"So what you're saying is that we're all going to be in trouble with the Ministry just because none of us received enough love as children? Just because my daddy likes to hit me doesn't mean I'm a threat to the government!" One of the fifth year Ravenclaws exclaimed fervently, clearly trying not to panic.

"It doesn't even matter what happened to us as children, the Ministry already knows what our affinities are and they're going to show up any minute now, the last Slytherin arrived nearly 10 minutes ago!" The fourth year Ravenclaw girl asserted just as passionately, not even trying to hide her fear.

"Assuming that the Ministry will go to the rooms in order of what they're looking for, and if Malfoys right about us being targeted too, then our room would only be second or third in line. There's just not enough time to do anything, even if there was something we could do to prevent it." A seventh year Slytherin spoke up calmly but grimly, somehow adding to the feelings of despair they probably all were feeling.

"Well, what about Potter?" A sixth year Slytherin suggested, suddenly turning all the attention to him.

"What about me?" Harry asked, almost feeling sick to the stomach from fear and dread.

"Well you're the Boy-Who-Lived, the last thing anyone would expect was that you were abused," the Slytherin said almost nonchalantly, making Harry flinch at the words.

"So, if you say that the test was wrong and could somehow prove it, the Ministry would be forced to admit the test was inaccurate, therefore making it impossible for them to accuse the rest of us of being Dark Wizards as well!"

"But how am I going to prove that it's wrong? I didn't even know that I'm apparently a Dark Wizard!" He retorted, panicking as well.

"You can produce a corporeal Patronus right? No Dark Wizard is supposed to be able to perform that level of Light magic, let alone a fifteen year old kid. If you use that as your proof that you're not a Dark Wizard, it might get the Ministry off our backs, but they'll still be rumors, especially in the Prophet." The sixth year warned almost kindly.

The realization that, if anything, the Prophets lies about him were going to get even worse almost made Harry want to run from the room right then and there. The Ministry didn't technically know he was in this specific room after all, if he made a break for it and used the Map he might be able to find the room Ron or Hermione were in and pretend to have been there the entire time. He might even pull it off if he convinced the other students to lie for him.

But then that would leave everyone else in this room to the same, if not worse, fate of being labelled as Dark Wizards by the Ministry with Merlin-knows-what consequences. Even though he'd had no problem stamping the other students with the same label not even half an hour ago, he'd only just now realized that that's all these people really were: students. Students who most, if not all, had experienced the same type of abuse that Harry had, which did not actually make someone a Dark Wizard, like the Ministry apparently believed.

Choice made, Harry looked at every occupant in the room, only now seeing what he'd been too prejudiced to notice before. The students that had spoken up were all visibly stressed, especially the fifth year Ravenclaw who'd made the comment about his dad hitting him. And the students that hadn't spoken somehow looked even worse, the tension in their postures and expressions of outright fear on their faces striking a chord deep within him, one that knew exactly how they were feeling from experience.

"I'll do it, and I'll do even more." He stated ardently, suddenly confident. "I don't know how many you are aware of this, but I have started a defense club to learn what Umbridge refuses to teach, and I'd like you all to join. You'll have to sign a secrecy vow, but after that you'll receive a galleon that'll tell you the date of the next meeting. I don't even care if you're actually Dark or not, but everyone needs to know how to defend themselves, so if any of you are interested, I'll tell you where we meet and get you a galleon for further use. Does that sound okay with everyone?"

For a few seconds, the only expressions on everyone's faces were shock and disbelief, the sight comic enough that Harry almost wanted to laugh. They all quickly regained their bearings though, with varying results.

"Why would you tell any of us this? You don't even need to help us and yet here you are saying that you also want us to join your very illegal defense club? Are you as crazy as the Prophet says Potter?" The fifth year Slytherin girl that was definitely related to the fourth year Slytherin spoke.

"Daph, there's no need to be so defensive, Potter is actually being genuine in his offer, I'd suggest you take it, I know I will." Nott asserted suddenly, surprising Harry with the defense of his character.

"I'm telling you all this because if Malfoys telling the truth, then we've all had similar experiences that make it impossible for me to just leave you defenseless, whether it's to the Ministry or to anyone else that might want to hurt you, it doesn't matter which." He explained as best as he could, desperately hoping that the other students would take him up on his offer.

There was silence for a few minutes, until one of the students who had been silent so far decided to speak. "And you trust that Malfoy is telling the truth about all of this?" The fourth year Ravenclaw asked quietly.

At that question, Harry couldn't help but look at Malfoy, who'd been surprisingly silent since Harry's proclamation about helping them. The blonde was still more serious than Harry had ever seen him, and for the first time he decided to trust his gut without any second guessing.

"Yes, I trust him."

It was then that they all heard the tell-tale sound of footsteps outside of the room, the loudness indicating that a lot more people were going to come in than they'd originally hypothesized. Feeling a wave of dread surge over him, Harry hoped that his instincts about Malfoy wouldn't prove to be wrong, or else they were all royally screwed.


End file.
